Samsung Nexus S Ice Cream Sandwich Update Now Available

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As expected, the first two Nexus smartphones, the Nexus One and the Nexus S, are probably going to be the first devices to be upgraded to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich once the Galaxy Nexus becomes official, since they’re both running clean, “vanilla” Android versions.

Or better said, the Nexus S will surely get some ICS love since it’s a relatively new device that should be able to run the new OS. As for the “older” Nexus One, that still remains to be seen.

The XDA Developers already have an unofficial ICS port for the Nexus S, which means those of you not afraid of getting their hands dirty meddling with an unofficial Android build can now run Google’s latest mobile OS on the second Google Nexus phone.

Before you move to ICS on the Nexus S, make sure you back up all your sensitive information, just in case something goes wrong during the unofficial upgrade process. Once you’re done with the install you may notice that certain features are not fully functional including Face Unlock, Panorama Mode and NFC. Certain icons are missing and some users reported connectivity issues but hopefully these sort of issues will go away once the final build is available.

In order to perform the update to Android 4.0, you’ll have to follow the instructions provided at the Source link. That includes rooting your Nexus S device in order to flash the ICS build on the device. While rooting Android devices is now legal, it may still void your warranty, not to mention bricking the handset if not done properly so you’d better make sure you follow the instructions closely.

Last but not least, we’re not encouraging you to install ICS on the Nexus S at this time, and we’re reminding you that you’ll be the only person responsible for whatever you put your handset through. Furthermore, the Galaxy Nexus is supposed to be launched in the very near future, at which point we expect the Nexus S to be updated to ICS too.